If Charlotte Hadn't Married Mr Collins
by malaynamonkey2004
Summary: What if Miss Lucas hadn't married Mr. Collins? A short twist on the beautiful masterpiece that is Pride and Prejudice.
1. Chapter 1

**I recently finished** _ **Pride and Prejudice**_ **and loved it!**

 **DISCLAIMER I do not own** _ **Pride and Prejudice**_ **in any way.**

Mr. Collins was to come today. Mr. Bennet had told his children all about his cousin who was lawfully allowed to take Longbourn after said Mr. Bennet was deceased. The five Bennet girls were not concerned by this matter. Mr. Collins was unknown to them, and hopefully would not cause any trouble in their daily business of life, being a gentleman.

The day arrived in which Mr. Collins was to come to Longbourn and make himself welcome. Mrs. Bennet was in a flurry, having forgotten to wash the windows, and she had all of her daughters working as fast as they could. As soon as the windows shone, they all hurried upstairs to be dressed and freshened up as to be presentable.

After a while, they heard the familiar sounds of a chaise approaching, and as Jane and Lydia peeked outside, soon acknowledged that Mr. Collins was here. They walked down to the living room, and sat composedly. Elizabeth was not excited about meeting Mr. Collins at all; she had been forced to give up a jolly fun day with Charlotte!

Mr. Collins finally walked in and bowed to all the women and Mr. Bennet himself, and graciously accepted his welcome as best as he could. He apologized repeatedly about the trouble of taking him in, and was not at all satisfied when he received all the reassurances that it was no trouble at all.

Mr. Collins immediately took up a pleasure in walking to the girls. His obvious admiration in the eldest Miss Bennet was noticed quickly by Elizabeth. Mary couldn't help but feel a spark of envy at his affection, but stayed silent as Mr. Collins took up a conversation with Jane. Jane blushed and spoke very little, as she was embarrassed at not having the field of knowledge in hunting. Mr. Collins soon understood, and took up a topic of the latest gossip so as to make Jane more at ease.

Mr. Collins had a silly way of talking. He was so polite that it made him seem rather like a duck, in Lydia's opinion. Of course, he was very gracious and was not at fault in any of his matters, but it seemed as if he was trying too hard.

He mentioned the matter of Lady Catherine De Bourgh many times, and I will not go into much detail, as that would end up taking all day. He made many wide gestures when describing the Lady's humble abode, Rosings. The women could care less, but he insisted on explaining, believing that they did not understand the splendor and grandeur of Rosings. It really was a good explanation, but when Mr. Collins realized that he did not have very attentive listeners, he moved on to explain about his own premises.

Supper was started, or Mr. Collins had arrived late. It really was a grand meal, but Mrs. Bennet insisted that she had overdone the duck, and had burnt the bread. Mr. Collins reassured her that it was wonderful, and Mrs. Bennet gratefully took in the praise. She really hoped that Mr. Collins would marry one of her daughters, so Longbourn would still be under the Bennet name at some point.

But was it to be?

 **Sorry about the length! I know it's a little short, and it's different from my other story, but I hope you guys like it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is going to be an extremely short chapter again. I'm planning on discontinuing this story pretty soon, as I have only gotten a few reviews. But I did get a ton of reviews, follows, and favorites. But I'm not sure if this is my kind of a story.**

 **Review Responses:**

 **The Unpredictable Muse: Yes, maybe by chapter three or four, unless I don't continue this story after this chapter.**

 **Ladybug Reads: I guess this is in whatever** _ **Pride and Prejudice**_ **was written in. Not sure, was that in the 1800s? Not 100%, but I will try to add some servants maybe.**

 **Here we go.**

Mrs. Bennet was starting to get more anxious as the days went by. Jane had managed to make Mr. Collins lose all interest in her by telling him that she was currently courting another gentleman who was much richer and finer than he was. Of course, she told him in a kind way, but there was still a part of Jane that felt guilt for lying to Mr. Collins, a simple gentleman, and also for blowing him off when he had thought that he had definitely managed to catch her eye.

Elizabeth had laughed so hard at Jane's speech.

"Excuse me, Mr. Collins," Elizabeth recalled Jane saying as Mr. Collins was in the middle of one of his finest speeches about Longbourn and Jane herself. "I regret to tell you that you cannot continue to try to woo me any longer, for I am currently courting a kind young gentleman who has many years ahead of him and has a fine profit per year. So excuse me when I say that I don't wish to be accused of cheating on him."

Jane told Elizabeth afterwards that she had made it up on the spot and had been trying not to be overwhelmed by guilt and laughter at the same time as she was crafting her words. Mr. Collins face was to "die for" according to Elizabeth. He was literally shocked. He almost smacked Jane's face until he remembered that he was a gentleman in someone else's home.

Elizabeth had pulled Jane out of the way, anyway. Jane recounted the tale to an anxious Kitty and Lydia that night by the fireside, and even Mary had the good sense to inconspicuously listen in. A story like this was so rare in the Bennet household that everyone knew to listen in and actually retain the stories. Jane's stories were always so animated and well-worded that Lydia especially, who was the youngest, although being sixteen, was intrigued and always was first to comment and ask questions, with Kitty being a close second.

Elizabeth was almost always with Jane, so Elizabeth was also one who was asked many questions about Jane's doings, especially by Kitty, who found Jane's explanations to be dull and boring, and Elizabeth's to be amusing and humorous with fun hand motions.

Mary was known to ask very little questions, but at this point, Mary was happy to hear about other people's, especially her sister's, love life, and not worry about her own. She had already been told multiple times by Mrs. Bennet that she couldn't attract suitors. Mary was not let-down.

But at the moment, Elizabeth was no longer laughing. Mr. Collins had turned his affections from the eldest Ms. Bennet to Elizabeth herself. Alas, Elizabeth had made it known that she was woefully single at the first supper with Mr. Collins, so she could not get away with Jane's excuse. Elizabeth, Jane, and Lydia put their heads together to find a new excuse, but they had none. Pretending to be sick would send Mr. Collins away, leaving for town would be incredibly foolish as Mr. Collins left for town many times during the day when he was bored, and any other idea was cast off as foolish, bad, or impossible. Mary was not attractive at all; she was a plain girl that was not the most popular of her sisters; she read and played piano. Mary was to be the decoy, and Mary did agree with this idea. Mary had developed romantic feelings for Mr. Collins, but had not managed to catch his eye, much to her regret. She had even played a solo on the flute but he had ignored it, most likely because it was absolutely terrible.

Mary couldn't be the decoy, though, because she developed the flu and was in bed for many a day, and when she was better, she was known as the patient. She had lost all possibilities of winning Mr. Collins's heart, although he was kind to her and helped her get through her illness.

Mary couldn't get past the idea of Mr. Collins marrying her. She was jealous of her two older sisters; she had always been the person below them, the invisible one. Jane and Elizabeth were the ones who always got the suitors and the eyes, while Mary was asked to read aloud or play some sonata. Mary wished she had changed her life before it was too late; maybe she would be married now, before all of her other sisters.

Mary was not the favorite daughter of either Mr. or Mrs. Bennet. Mr. Bennet simply ignored her, not to be rude, but just because it was just a part of life at Longbourn that even Mr. Collins knew, sadly. Mrs. Bennet was always telling Mary to do this or that, or play this or that, or fix this or that. There was always something wrong with Mary to Mrs. Bennet, be it her hair, her clothes, or her disposition. Mrs. Bennet was never satisfied completely.

 **Guys I need five reviews and I will continue this story. This chapter turned out a lot longer than I thought, though I do know that it is still short. Thanks so much for reading! PS I am a beta reader so please send requests via PM or** **betamonkey2004** **.**


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